Fifty three Memphis police officers have violated the department's body camera policy since the cameras were deployed in October 2016, according to police records obtained Friday by The Commercial Appeal.

The department has issued more than 20 reprimands to police officers who have violated its body camera policy. At least 10 of those officers were suspended. Four officers received oral reprimands.

The department's records also show allegations of officers using excessive force and displaying police misconduct while not operating their body cameras.

One account shows an officer, identified as Dekevious Kinsler,making lewd sexual comments through an intercom or telephone on three occasions on May 12, 2017, as alleged by a female store employee.

Another account contends an officer, identified as Enis Jackson, was investigated after he allegedly choked and slammed a man into a patrol car during a Sept. 2, 2017 arrest.

Considering the 53 officers who violated the policy, Rallings said that number is small in comparison to the full size of the department.

On Thursday at Impact Baptist Church in Frayser, Rallings and Memphis police officers discussed body cameras, Martavious Banks' shooting and other issues.

“Out of 2.4 million videos, you are going to have some officers that either make a mistake or make a bad decision," Rallings said.

"But I want you to divide that (number of violations) by 2.5 million and you see that it is very rare there is a negative incident. Given the 1,650 officers with body-worn cameras, that is a very small percentage,” he said, referring again to the 53 officers.

The notion that Memphis police are not using body-worn cameras while patrolling is "a lie," Rallings said.

"You can't have 2.4 million body camera videos if they [officers] are not using body-worn cameras," Rallings said.

In addition to the officers equipped with body cameras, Memphis police have 576 squad cars with in-car video systems.

The department currently has 600,000 dash cam recordings, according to Rallings.

Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer said the number of body-worn camera videos can reflect the size of police department and the numbers of officers using cameras.

“If you look at the hours of footage you have, it probably equals the number of police officers who wear body cameras, along with the hours they are on a shift," Sawyer said.

Reports have identified Jamarcus Jeames, 25, as the officer who critically injured Banks. Two other officers who either did not turn on or switched off body cameras were identified as Christopher Nowell, 27, and Michael R. Williams II, 27.

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Janice Banks, the mother of Martavious Banks, 25, near the scene where her son was shot and critically injured by a Memphis police officer Monday evening in South Memphis. The shooting followed a traffic stop in the 1200 block of Gill in September.(Photo: Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, )

Arthur Horne, Banks' lawyer, said Banks was shot eight times — twice in the back. Horne said they have looked into the shooting since Banks has been at home recovering after he was released from the hospital last week.

"We got a young man who actually died and came back to life and gets to tell his story. How rare is that ?" Horne said of Banks, who was on life support before he improved.

"Not to mention, they [Memphis police] endangered the lives of individuals when they shot into that house."

"If the footage is being used right, when there is an infraction, there should be footage," Sawyer said. "And that is the community’s concern. Where is the footage when the issue happens?"

Will Memphis police create a policy for releasing footage?

Since Banks' shooting, no body-worn camera footage of officers' interaction with Banks before the shooting has been released. Memphis police will not make footage of officer-involved shootings public during ongoing investigations.

The department also has not decided if it will create policy that requires the police director to say if footage will be released within days of the shooting taken place, according to Rallings.

“We are always reviewing our policies and procedures," Rallings said. "So, we are certainly open to continue discussion on that, but we at this time have not decided to broaden it.

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Family members, neighbors and activists demanded answers from the Memphis Police Department hours after a man was shot following a traffic stop. Martavious Banks, 25, was shot by an officer in September.(Photo: Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, )

“If there is an ongoing investigation, we don’t release body camera footage — especially incidents where if the TBI or someone came in to conduct an investigation," Ralling said. "So we are open to reviewing those, but today we have not decided to make a change.”

Rallings said it is "unfortunate" that the three officers involved in the shooting turned off their body cameras. Rallings said the actions of the three officers does not reflect his entire department.

"We bought the cameras to be an independent witness, not because I don’t trust the police officers, and, officers, y’all need to hear this," Rallings said. "It is 'cause a lot of the public doesn’t trust you."

Rallings said his department won't always get it right and the body cameras won't always capture everything. He said they are still "brand new." Body cameras were first put into use by law departments in 2014.

“The body-worn camera is just a tool, it’s not perfect," Rallings said. "There is no law in the nation that says for an officer-involved shooting to be justified, it must be captured on body-worn cameras."

You can reach Phillip Jackson at phillip.jackson@commercialappeal.com or 901/305-3964. On Twitter: @phillej_